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Bruce Arians: 'Heath Miller is the best tight end in the NFL'

Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians believes that Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller is the best in the NFL because of his ability as a blocker.

Arians used to coach Miller at the Steelers as his offensive coordinator and feels that he provides better value at the position over players who just catch passes.

He told reporters: "The tight end for me, I'm old school. You've got to block first and catch passes,.

"That's why I loved Heath Miller. I still think Heath Miller's the best tight end in the National Football League, not because he catches 90 passes, because he blocks big defensive ends, and he catches about 60-70 passes.

"The guys that line up as wide receivers might get tagged as wide receivers. But, you know, tight ends for me block first, catch second."

Arians had an excellent first season at the Cardinals guiding them to a 10-6 record in 2013.

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May 2008

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3,950

I'm like BA. Dual threat TEs are always preferable to me, than a guy who can do one part exceptionally well but not the other parts at all. I remember in the 90s, how we had a guy named Adrian Cooper who used to block DEs in the run game, seal the edge, and we'd dominate games that way. I don't think Heath is that good (blocking), but he's probably in the 90th percentile, when it comes to starting TEs blocking.

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Steelers veteran tight end Miller thriving after missing last offseason

By Alan Robinson

Published: Monday, June 9, 2014, 9:50 p.m.
Updated 10 hours ago

Ben Roethlisberger is using the Steelers' pre-camp practices to get in rhythm with the receivers who weren't around a year ago.

Martavis Bryant. Lance Moore. Darrius Heyward-Bey. Rob Blanchflower.

Don't forget one more name: Heath Miller.

Miller, long the most-trusted target for Roethlisberger, seems to be enjoying the offseason workouts that move into their third week Tuesday — an uncommon occurrence for a player going into his 10th NFL season.

But rather than feeling drudgery while going through practices that take place three months before the season starts, Miller believes the sessions are good for him and the offense.

For good reason, too — he was healing from a major knee injury a year ago, when he missed all of the major preseason work and didn't return to the lineup until Week 3.

Even after he came back, it took Miller weeks and weeks to again be the receiver he was while making 71 catches in 2012, before he tore his ACL and MCL and injured his PCL against the Bengals on Dec. 23. He needed nearly nine months — and that was a rapid recovery — for his right knee to fully strengthen, and for him to get back into game and practice shape.

It was a long road, but Miller — the top receiving tight end in Steelers' history — believes he's fully back, 18 months since he was injured.

“Last year was the first year I haven't been able to prepare for a season with these (May-June) practices, and they're certainly beneficial — to me, anyway — to be out here to work on your technique,” Miller said.

“It's hard to simulate football activity without doing football.”

It also was more difficult for Roethlisberger to begin last season without Miller and projected starting running back Le'Veon Bell, who missed the first three games of the Steelers' 0-4 start.

iller and Bell should be full-go in an offense that looks deeper than it did at the start of last season, even without receivers Jerricho Cotchery and Emmanuel Sanders.

“It's hard for me to think of another year when we've lost (more) guys, but we've got some new faces — and, from what I've seen, they're more than capable of getting the job done,” Miller said. “It's just a matter of who is going to be out there doing it.”

The one constant in the Steelers' passing game since Miller arrived as a first-round pick in 2005 is how reliable he is as a receiver.

Even while playing in an offense that never emphasized throwing to the tight end, Miller has 466 catches — the fourth-most among all NFL tight ends over the past nine seasons. He has made those catches while being targeted only 652 times — or nearly 500 times fewer than 13-time Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez during that span.

Miller, who turns 32 in October, doesn't think his knee operation will have any impact on this season or the rest of his career.

While he didn't look like himself until the second half of last season, he still finished with 58 catches, the third-most of his career.

“Certainly, if you play the game long enough, there aren't many guys who come through it without major injuries,” Miller said. “It's just something that I've had to work to overcome, and I'm just looking forward now.”

So is Roethlisberger.

“I've always said that Heath is the best all-around tight end in the league,” he said.

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May 2008

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17,159

I agree with Northcoast. I was never a Arians hater like so many because I saw that he was trying to move this offense to a level to compete with the other high octane offenses in the league. My biggest disappointment with him is that he never delivered on his promises to use the TEs more. Maybe that is ebcause the OL was so bad he needed the blocking but still very disappointing that we never got what we could have out of Miller's prime playing years.

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May 2008

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22,170

Originally Posted by Oviedo

I agree with Northcoast. I was never a Arians hater like so many because I saw that he was trying to move this offense to a level to compete with the other high octane offenses in the league. My biggest disappointment with him is that he never delivered on his promises to use the TEs more. Maybe that is ebcause the OL was so bad he needed the blocking but still very disappointing that we never got what we could have out of Miller's prime playing years.